Fluid Dynamic Characteristics and Flow Distribution ‎Structure Optimization of Axial Piston Pump Considering ‎Cavitation Bubble Evolution

Abstract

An axial piston pump can produce a serious cavitation phenomenon in the high- and low-pressure ‎transition process. Cavitation bubbles expand, compress, rebound and collapse when they enter the high-‎pressure oil drainage area. This affects the outlet flow ripple as well as the pressure pulsation of the ‎piston pump. However, the effect of the cavitation bubbles is ignored in the current outlet flow ripple ‎model of axial piston pumps. It affects the optimization design of the axial piston pump distribution area ‎structure parameters with the objective of reducing the pressure and flow rate. Therefore, a method of ‎optimizing the fluid dynamic characteristics and the flow distribution area structure parameters of an axial ‎piston pump considering the cavitation bubble evolution is proposed. A single-cavity dynamic model was ‎established to study the bubble evolution as the piston chamber pressure changes. According to the ‎cavitation cloud (group cavitation) characteristics of the axial piston pump, theoretical models of the ‎outlet flow ripple and the pressure pulsation of a piston pump were established considering the cavitation ‎bubble characteristics. The influence of cavitation characteristics on the outlet flow ripples and pressure ‎pulsation of the axial piston pump was analyzed and compared with that without cavitation. Comparison ‎with the experimental results, verified that the outlet flow ripple model becomes more accurate when ‎cavitation bubble characteristics are considered. Based on the multi-agent particle swarm optimization ‎‎(MAPSO) algorithm, an optimization model of the piston pump outlet flow ripple was established ‎considering the cavitation bubble characteristics. The optimized design parameters for the flow ‎distribution area of the axial piston pump were evaluated. The proposed method can provide theoretical ‎guidance for the design of a low flow ripple axial piston pump.‎